Community Brag Posts

Our first Build!

Submitted by jbaby13 on Tue, 03/29/2011 - 15:10

This was my husband and my first try at building furniture.  It took most of the weekend to build, paint, sand etc, but it looks great in my son's room and has much more room then his old bookcase.

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Flat paint and clear coat finish
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Rustic X End Table

Submitted by dzubakj on Mon, 06/10/2013 - 08:40

I altered the dimensions slightly so that it wouldn't be overbearing in my living room. It is much shorter than the plan suggests, and the length and width are also changed. I used framing 2x4 and 2x6 lumber, so I had to sand the heck out of it to make it nice and smooth. It looks great next to the console table. Good plan.

Estimated Cost
60
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I went with the steel wool in vinegar finish with two coats of light brown Briwax over that (applied with steel wool). I really liked the steel wool and vinegar finish, but if you have never used it before be careful, it is a bit tricky to apply evenly. Also, it goes through several changes while it dries. I started panicking a little before it was fully fry because it was not turning out how I suspected at all. After a few more minutes it looked much better, and the wax brought out just enough brown to make it exactly what I wanted.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Castle Bed

Submitted by AndyH on Wed, 05/13/2015 - 08:00

Friends asked me to design a princess/castle bed for their daughter. It needed to fit a single/twin size mattress and fit a 61 inch space they had so I designed the overall width to be 60 inches.

It is all made from solid planks apart from the two big shelves in the headboard which are plywood.

They wanted the sides close to the headboard to be raised as well so their little girl didn't roll out the bed.

Not added the slats yet as it is off to the paint shop to be sprayed Pink!! I will post more photos once painted and will also post plans soon once finished them.

Hope the little girl likes it when she sees it.

Estimated Cost
$350
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Will be spray painted pink. I will post more pictures once painted.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Vespa ride-on

I made the plans a little different. I had more support to the front, made the base wider, and added swivel wheels instead of rockers.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse potting bench by Rocky Acres Woodworks

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/06/2021 - 07:17

I used 1x4 for the top and stained with dark walnut danish oil

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

First nightstand

Submitted by juliec on Sat, 04/02/2011 - 13:24

We used ana's plan but modified the top

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$35
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
We will use espresso general finishes and several top coats of poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

bridgetschaefer

Thu, 05/30/2019 - 13:00

This is EXACTLY what I'm looking for but I can't find the plans that were used to build it. Do you happen to still have the link for them?

Porch bench

Submitted by DWolf on Tue, 06/11/2013 - 15:58

Using Ana's garden bench design, I modified the plans slightly to make the bench less deep in order to fit on my narrow porch.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
White Valspar outdoor paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Barn Greenhouse on the Penninsula!

Submitted by klatz on Fri, 05/15/2015 - 09:08

Super easy to follow and build! We went with treated lumber from Home Depot and have around $1500 into the project. Will be looking at adding an automatic fan and thermostat next year. Benches on one side for starters and a raised bed on the other side.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$1500
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

MartiB8

Fri, 06/12/2020 - 11:00

What a fabulous job! I love the red door for a pop of color. And the thermometer is a brilliant idea. I'm modifying this plan to better fit my yard. Thanks for sharing!

Bluebird Birdhouse Made From Pallets

Submitted by mtairymd on Sat, 11/25/2017 - 15:20

Build Instructions: https://www.instructables.com/id/Bluebird-Birdhouse-Made-From-Pallets/

This is a very easy project to make for attracting bluebirds to your yard. I wanted to reuse some of the wood I have from with the pallets I broke apart last year. This project uses a combination of industrial strength pallets made from 2x6s and standard pallets which provide slats in the 3/8" to 1/2" thick range. As for the house, I tried to hit the basic bluebird birdhouse dimensions for this build:

  • Hole Entry Size: 1.5"
  • Hole Distance Above Floor: 6" to 7"
  • Floor Dimensions: 4"x 4" to 5" x 5"

Feel free to leave the birdhouse exterior to weather unfinished or stain/paint it. I finished the house with a combination of stain for the bottom and sides and green paint for the roof.

Estimated Cost
$2
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Dark Cherry & Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Pallet Wood Coffee Table

Submitted by AlexWS on Mon, 04/04/2011 - 14:51

After my free drink station project I was going to swear off pallet wood for larger pieces, then I came across what may be a holy grail of pallets. 4 feet by 5 feet made with 4X4's and 2X6's held together with screws rather than nails. Yup, something had to be done with this.

so the sort of free comes from the lumber being free while I paid for the stain and poly. Of course, you could say we always pay for those, in this instance though they weren't leftovers from another project.

I say sort of Tryde because it shares the basics of the table, 2 by top pieces, breadboards, chunky 4X4 legs. However, given my wood choices the lumber sizes are all mixed around. Also because I was originally going to make the modern X leg kids picnic table but didn't have any good wood for the legs.

So instead of the breadboards being the wide pieces those are now 2X3's with 2X6's for the table top pieces. Another difference is that instead of 1X4's for the aprons boxed out I used 2X4's. This really wasn't a big deal because I had a Kreg Jig. By the way, got the master system and it rocks my socks off.

Compared to my last pallet wood projects these boards pretty much look store bought, I wish I had remembered to take a picture before I stained it. They're definitely a bit knotty but that's OK because even when I don't want an overly distressed look I still don't think wood should be perfect, if I wanted that I would use MDF.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$15
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Simple Minwax Ebony stain with a gloss spray poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Tryde Coffee Table

Submitted by bishop2001 on Fri, 06/14/2013 - 07:00

Tryde Coffee Table made of mahogany and stained used several layers of boiled linseed oil and a few top coat layers of wipe on satin polyurethane. It came out really nice. This is my first project.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
boiled linseed oil
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Pottery Barn headboard with barn wood finish

Submitted by Abentley10 on Tue, 05/19/2015 - 02:31

Pottery Barn inspired headboard was created by using a modified version of the Reclaimed Wood headboard. I turned the planks vertical and cut them 32" long. I added a piece of rope ceiling trim. For the finish, I spray painted the whole piece black. After it was dry, I dry brushed cream paint on top. I finished it off with polyurethane.

Estimated Cost
Around $50. I used wood from the 70% off rack at Home Depot.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Barn wood faux finish. Rustoleum black spray paint, cream latex paint, spray polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

RenoRustic

Tue, 05/19/2015 - 09:04

I was thinking of running planks vertically for the Reclaimed Headboard too but ended up doing a different headboard all together at the last minute. I really like how yours turned out. Great job on the cost too. I don't think I've ever seen a 70% off rack at Home Depot. Now I want to run up there real quick to find it!

Abentley10

Fri, 05/22/2015 - 22:23

Thank you. Home Depot usually has a cart in the lumber aisles with stacks of wood with minor imperfections. We have scored big when they included the specialty wood.

Coffee Bar

My husband building this using Ana White plans.  I just love getting to put a bunch of different items almost as a display.  I love this coffee bar  and it is now almost the focal point in our dining room.  I just love the presence it has in this room.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Dress up Center

Submitted by Kassidy_D on Wed, 11/24/2021 - 09:50

Project #2 in the bag! I haven't personalized because I am still considering making another at 36" wide to better fit her room and giving this one away. Very pleased with how it turned out! Still learning!

Comments

A cottage bench with shoe rack

Only slightly modified cottage bench - I made the storage area bigger and added shelves to put my shoes. Only my second project so it's not perfect (especially the paint job) but I loooove it! Sure, the shoe rack I had was perfectly functional and bigger, but this is waaay prettier.

Found a perfect red oops paint at Lowes and I even added a little birdie stencil. I have a few more pieces I'm working on and hope to finish soon. Thank you Ana for the plans!
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Primer and two coats of paint, lightly sanded in between. I skipped the top coat because I want the red color to naturally fade with use.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

King storage bed

Submitted by Ken Kelly on Sat, 06/15/2013 - 22:43

This King size storage bed has 6 large pullout drawers. It's made by the plans we got from Ana's queen size and Twenty five to life's plans we found on this site(THANK YOU). Just like they say in their plans I'm not sure how much I actually spent because I made some mistakes and had to rebuild my bottom piece. But I loved putting this together, and it's worth every penny and beyond. The compliments from visitors and the swollen chest pride I get when I hear my wife say, "My husband built this for us." Can't put a price on that.

Estimated Cost
Around 200-250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Min-wax stain and polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Turned leg table made in India

I loved working on this project and my sincerest thanks to Ana and Elisha for this design. The picture is missing one drawer handle, because, erm, I lost it. I didn't want to wait to find it before posing this brag :).

Built from Plan(s)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Doll cradle

Submitted by JBachelor on Sun, 12/17/2017 - 20:14

My husband and I used your plans to make this cradle... He built it, and I painted it.  I’m so excited to give it to our granddaughter for Christmas!!

Estimated Cost
We used wood and paint we already had, so it was basically free.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

JBachelor

Sun, 12/17/2017 - 20:52

I put that it took 10-20 hours... that was mostly the painting and drying time between each coat, and doing the A for her name.

Custom Pantry Spice Rack

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 12/06/2021 - 02:56

After special ordering glass spice jars for my cupboard I came across your plans for this spice rack and decided to attempt the build. Plans were very well written and easy to execute with a few customizations. I opted for brass rods to hold the jars in place and lined each shelf with shelf liner to ensure the jars don’t move when the pantry door swings. I am very pleased with the outcome and will be making a matching rack for my aluminum foil, plastic wrap, etc.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Maple/Cherry Coffee Table

Submitted by tctaylor79 on Mon, 04/11/2011 - 07:02

This has been a work in progress for about 4 years.  My wife and I started this project before we were married.  Between a wedding, moving into our first house and having our first child we've had a real hard time getting in the shop to finish this project.  I'm proud to say that's it's finally together and just needs a few coats of poly. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
None yet, Poly will be applied in the near future.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate